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Stocks give up gains, finishing mixed By TIM PARADIS
AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street turned in a mixed performance Friday as investors set aside some initial enthusiasm over a stronger-than-expected jobs report to lock in some of their recent gains. Blue chip stocks logged their third weekly advance in a row as investors grew more confident about the economy's ability to outrun a deep downturn.
The reports on employment and the pace of orders at factories offered the market fresh evidence that the economy might not be in as worrisome a state as many had feared. But a surprise quarterly loss from Sun Microsystems Inc. weighed on the tech-laden Nasdaq composite index.
Still, buyers outnumbered sellers after a government report showed the nation's employers cut far fewer jobs than expected last month, stirring optimism about the buoyancy of the economy.
Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams, said stocks pulled back from the day's highs because many investors opted to hold on to gains following a decent run-up, including a 190-point surge in the Dow Jones industrials on Thursday.
The employment report Friday came at the end of a critical week for Wall Street. While corporate results dominated in previous weeks, investors focused this week on the Federal Reserve's decision Wednesday to lower interest rates and on reports on the nation's gross domestic product, personal spending and factory orders.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 48.20, or 0.37 percent, to 13,058.20 after being up more than 100 points early in the session.
Broader stock indicators ended mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.56, or 0.32 percent, to 1,413.90, while the Nasdaq slipped 3.72, or 0.15 percent, to 2,476.99.
The moves Friday came a day after a rising dollar and falling oil prices emerged as promising signs for the economy. The Dow closed above 13,000 for the first time since Jan. 3.
For the week, the Dow gained 1.29 percent, while the S&P 500 added 1.15 percent and the Nasdaq rose 2.23 percent. It was the third straight weekly advance for the Dow and the S&P 500.
Light, sweet crude rose $3.80 to settle at $116.32 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
Recent months have brought spikes in food and energy costs that have made it harder for many consumers. Wall Street is concerned that rising prices and a weak housing market would force consumers, who account for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, to curtail spending.
The Labor Department's report that employers cut 20,000 jobs in April was a relief to Wall Street, which had been expecting payrolls to fall by 75,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 5 percent from 5.1 percent. This marked the fourth straight month of job losses, but the data signaled that perhaps the economy might be resisting falling into recession.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 2.05 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 finished up 2.11 percent, Germany's DAX index added 1.36 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.46 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week up 166.34, or 1.29 percent, at 13,058.20. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished up 16.06, or 1.15 percent, at 1,413.90. The Nasdaq composite index ended the week up 54.06, or 2.23 percent, at 2,476.99.
The Russell 2000 index finished the week up 3.86, or 0.53 percent, at 725.74.
The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index — a free-float weighted index that measures 5,000 U.S. based companies — ended Friday at 14,251.06, up 161.85 points, or 1.15 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 15,102.16.
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